Podouken

We go Pac in time to review the Pac-Man games of 1983: Pac & Pal, Professor Pac-Man, and Jr. Pac-Man. Namco and Bally/Midway are not happy with each other and it's leading to a messy divorce. Pac-Man gets a pal that is either a ghost or a dog (but sadly not Forest Whitaker), receives a doctorate in annoying image quizzes, and leaves the missus to care for their first born. How did GCC contribute to the rise and fall of Pac-Man? Why did a stolen concept turn into the worst Pac-Man game? What makes Jr. Pac-Man's mazes thicc? Can it really be a Pac-Man game if it has no stick? Also discussed: art appreciation, the necessities of clearing your search history, Romeo + Juliet, and a tease for our upcoming Insert Coin commentary.

Our Pac-xploration continues as we talk about the remaining Pac-Man games of 1982: Pac-Man Plus, Super Pac-Man, and Baby Pac-Man. Bally and Midway get into "quantity over quality", Namco follows up Puck-Man with their first official sequel, and pinball (which inspired Pac-Man) becomes part of the Pac-family. We also get the story of Baby Pac-Man's development straight from the designer himself! Exactly how does Pac-Man's anatomy work? Why did Midway release an expansion to Pac-Man just a month after releasing Ms. Pac-Man? What is Pac-Man's darkest timeline? That plus the origins of the Pac-children, Mortal Kombat jazz designs, and an important message about butt health.

Honey, doncha you know, she's more than Pac-Man with a bow! The Pac series continues with the ultimate genderbend - Ms. Pac-Man. We waka-waka-walka through the crazy origins of the best Pac-Man game (don't AtGames us) as we explore its very litigious history. How did a bunch of college dropouts make one of the best arcade games ever? What part did Atari play in the creation of this classic? What's Ms. Pac-Man's real name? Find out the history of GCC and the somewhat unknown role they played in video game history. And since it's a Pac-Man game it must have a pinball origin story, right? All those topics plus we find what really sticks in Mr. SNK's craw, launch a Super Missile Attack, and find out how Time magazine birthed an arcade conspiracy with legs.

It's time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pac-Man with the start of all Pac miniseries! Podouken finally talks about the big yellow ball in the room, NAMCO's Pac-Man. We delve into the often recounted (and often incorrect) history of arcadedom's most influential game and tell what part pinball played in birthing it into existence. How did the most expensive coin-flip in history go so wrong for one arcade company? What compensation did Pac-Man's creator get for making the most popular arcade game of all time? What date should we use when determining the release date of a game? It's pinball, Popeye, pizza, Pac-Man, professors, and Pixels for this Podouken podcast.

We get in the damn robot and play some of Sega's Virtual On! The final Listeners' Choice episode takes on your second/third/fourth favorite brand of giant, bipedal, murder robots. Listen as Borelo, Madlle, and Rod-TGH tell of the history and lamentations involved with buying and moving a Virtual On: Cyber Troopers unit. We marvel at the technical achievements made by the Sega AM3 team on an aged arcade board. We talk a lot about the current state of Mortal Kombat. How beefy is this big boy cabinet? What is your Virtuaroid name? How does The Last Starfighter fit into all this? Get those answers plus: Fast Food Fighters, the brief history of Gundam, VOOT Christ, deadlifts, and a talk with listener Andrew Olivera who nominated the game.